Negotiating violence: Mixed martial arts as a spectacle and sport

Abstract

Drawing on qualitative interviews with Mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes and stakeholders, this study aims to investigate the relationship between, on the one hand, MMA as a spectacle and imaginary world, and on the other, the fighters' experiences of violence, pain and 'the real'. Analytically, we are influenced by the literature on the spectacle and on hyperreality. The results show that athletes' negotiations concerning the sport largely connect to a particular way of approaching violence-culturally and in terms of physical experience. On the one hand, there is a desire to portray MMA as a civilized and regulated sport. The athletes develop different strategies by which to handle or renegotiate the physical force and violence in the cage. On the other hand, however, the fighters' bodily control and management of their fear sometimes breaks down. When the spectacle of the octagon becomes 'real' , the legitimacy of the sport is questioned.

Edgework and Mixed Martial Arts: Risk, Reflexivity and Collaboration in an Ostensibly ‘Violent’ Sport

“…Meanwhile,Green [2011] emphasises the 'realness' of MMA as an embodied awareness arising from the painful nature of training; when participants suffer, they become more confident not only in the efficacy of the martial art they are learning, but also in themselves as carriers Lyng argues that edgeworkers develop social bonds with each other on the basis of a shared admiration of their collective edgeworking ability, forming something of an elite social clique. This too is a common observation in studies of MMA; whileAndreasson and Johansson [2018],Green [2011], and many others note the construction of an exclusive community among fighters, Abramson and Modzelewski explain further that '[competitive] fighters are seen as special, different, and morally superior' within MMA subcultures based on their sacrifice, suffering, and voluntary commitment to the sport[2011: 167]. Importantly, this phenomenon is not built (only) on competitive success; a typical refrain I have heard numerous times in my own fieldwork is that 'anyone with the guts to step in the cage' is deserving of the utmost respect [seeSpencer 2009].…”

“…This is often the case for both winning and losing competitors, and although it does not happen after every fight, 7 it is common enough to describe as a norm in MMA. Further, fighters will very often check on their opponents in the cage after fights end via stoppages (i.e., knockouts, submissions, or referee interventions), with some fighters remaining in contact with former opponents after fights [Andreasson and Johansson 2018], or checking on their welfare by visiting them (in hospital, for instance) following injuries [Doyle 2015].…”

“…To conclude my argument then, I propose that edgework be used as a conceptual device to shift academic discourse on the action of MMA away from a simplistic, one-dimensional and empirically questionable framing as 'violence'. Unqualified use of this term is currently common throughout the literature on this sport, simultaneously ignoring the voices of athletes who explicitly state that they do not experience MMA fighting as violence [see Abramson and Modzelewski 2011;Andreasson and Johansson 2018;Stenius 2011], while inadvertently reinforcing the foundations of a stigma surrounding the sport that many authors otherwise recognise as problematic. In its place then, I propose using the notion of mutually constructed risk.…”

Distress Tolerance Imagery Training

“…MMA fighters, however, develop different strategies with which to manage or renegotiate the physical force and violence they experience [Andreasson and Johansson 2018]. Many seem to involve avoidance, a downplaying of, or the re-negotiation of violence to something understood as part of an entertainment spectacle and competitive sport.…”

The author's athlete training program at the stage of specialized basic training in pancration

“…науково-методичної літератури показав, що проблематика панкратіону вивчена досить опосередковано (Stenius, 2014;Andreasson & Johansson, 2018). Деякі науковці акцентують увагу на важливість правильної побудови навчальнотренувального процесу (Вовк, 2008;Коньков, 2008;Дзорданидис & Кузьмин, 2008;Zbigniew, Mircea & Dariusz, 2014;Наконечний, 2020 (Коньков, 2008; Гаранин, 2015; Білецький & Пономарьов, 2017; Наконечний, 2017).…”